Connector position assurances devices are known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,520 to Hayes, et al. discloses an electrical connector assembly with shorting members. The electrical connector includes a housing, electrical contacts connected to the housing and electrical shorting members connected to the housing. Each contact includes a male contact area to form a male electrical connector. Each shorting member is adapted to electrically connect at least two of the contacts to each other. Each one of the contacts is connected to at least one other contact of the contacts in the connector by the shorting member. The shorting members are each movable to a position spaced from the contacts. The contacts are aligned in an array of at least two rows with multiple ones of the contacts in each row.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,801 to Brown teaches and electrical connector that has a connector position assurance member. The electrical connector includes a housing having a deflectable cantilevered mating connector latch arm, electrical contacts connected to the housing and a connector position assurance (CPA) member movably mounted to the housing between an open position and a closed position. The CPA member includes a top section and two downwardly extending rails. Each rail has a bottom end adapted to contact a shorting clip of a mating electrical connector and moves the shorting clip off of connection with contacts of the mating electrical connector. The first rail includes a wedge surface and a detent locating surface. The wedge surface is adapted to be contacted by the mating electrical connector to deflect the first rail. When the CPA member is moved to the closed position, the detent locating surface is CPA member is moved to the closed position, the detent locating surface is adapted to be positioned below a detent surface of the housing to retain the CPA member in the closed position.
The connector position assurance devices in the prior art such as the prior art discussed above are rather large for smaller connectors. As a result, a large amount of space is occupied.
It would be beneficial to provide a connector position assurance apparatus that is suitable for smaller connectors thereby occupying a smaller amount of space. The present invention provides these benefits.